Laura Shane piloted an aircraft called The Chicken Whisperers for 258 feet to set a new world Flugtag record on Saturday in Long Beach. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER

LONG BEACH – Those magnificent men (and women) in their flying machines. They went “up diddly up” and most definitely “down diddly down.”

And one machine unexpectedly went far diddly far.

In the inaugural National Red Bull Flugtag day Saturday, contestants in five cities nationwide flew their home-made, hand-powered crafts off 28- to 30-foot ramps. And one, The Chicken Whisperers from Mountain View, set a new flugtag record with a flight of 258 feet, smashing the previous record set in Germany by 30 feet. The team also smashed the U.S. record by about 50 feet.

Designed by aerospace and rocket engineers, self-described engineering geeks, and flown by Laura Shane, the simple, silver, space-age-looking craft left the ramp and just glided and glided, almost in slow-motion, before gently settling into the water.

Given that organizers only had flight measurement markers out to 100 feet, these chickens definitely flew the coop.

When asked why he wanted to help design the craft, former rocket scientist Marshall Gusman said, “Why fly rockets when you can build these?”

On a flug-perfect day, throngs of fans, rivaling the 100,000 from the 2010 Long Beach Flutag, crowded around the lighthouse at Rainbow Park and selected viewing areas around Rainbow Harbor to witness the shenanigans.

Flugtag, a German translation of flight day, is a contest that scores flight distance, creativity and showmanship.

For the record, the Chicken Whisperers were the overall winners, followed by Long Beach’s own Legendary Flying Machine and the Oakley Factory Fliers. The people’s choice award went to flugtag veterans Red, White and Brews from Reedley.

But, of course, flight is only part of the show. And a small part, at that. Most onlookers were there for the splats, and the more spectacular the better.

Fun and hi-jinks are also as much a part of the event as aerodynamic acumen. And there was plenty of both.

In addition to the record long flight, there was a near-record no flight, as a UFO by Team Haunt began to lift backwards before it was wrestled off the ramp.

The event even featured a marriage proposal from the ramp, to which one of the event judges later remarked, “The guy proposed, then tried to commit suicide.”

Flying contraptions ranged from craft that would have done the Wright brothers proud, to others for which the only question was how fast would they fall down, like the house inspired by the movie “Up,” whose only nod to flight were a couple dozen helium balloons above the chimney.

Related Links

Laura Shane piloted an aircraft called The Chicken Whisperers for 258 feet to set a new world Flugtag record on Saturday in Long Beach. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER
From left, Kevin Travis, Dane Jelensky, Ryan Evelo, Jeremiah Stephens and Jason Fry, members of the flugtag team Anchorman: The Legend of the Mustache, watch other flugtag teams jump their creations off the platform at Rainbow Harbor during the Red Bull Flugtag on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. JOSH MORGAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jesus Enriquez, right, and Marycruz Zelaya stand with their flugtag, the Viaje de los Muertos, before they run it off the platform at the Red Bull Flugtag at Rainbow Harbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. JOSH MORGAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jenny Yin, pilot of an airship built by Seattle University MEGR, goes headfirst into the ocean during Saturday's Red Bull Flugtag in Long Beach. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER
A man hovers near the Queen Mary using a water-powered jet pack during a performance at Red Bull Flugtag at Rainbow Harbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. JOSH MORGAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A group of wizards called Sealow Green prepared for their turn at the Red Bull Flugtag in Long Beach on Saturday. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER
Members of the Legendary Flying Machine dance in a performance before pushing their flugtag off the launch platform during the Red Bull Flugtag at Rainbow Harbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. JOSH MORGAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The pilot of the Walgreens aircraft falls off his surfboard as he takes off during the Flugtag competition. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER
The pilot of an aircraft called The Illuminaughty falls of his entry as he took off at the Red Bull Flugtag on Saturday in Long Beach. BILL ALKOFER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
George Schano piloted an airship called Legendary Flying Machines. Legendary Sports Bar of Long Beach was the sponsor. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER
John Dalsay of The Belligerint Bufflebros does a gainer as he takes off at the Red Bull Flugtag in Long Beach on Saturday. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER
Marycruz Elya, pilot of the aircraft made by The Cal State University Long Beach Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, crashes into the water headfirst during the Red Bull Fluglag competition in Long Beach on Saturday. BILL ALKOFER, LONG BEACH REGISTER

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